Rumor: Is Steve Nash The Only Reason Pau Gasol Is Still In LA?

Is Steve Nash the only reason Pau Gasol is stil in Los Angeles?

HoopsVibe’s Very Quick Call: I doubt Nash’s insisting will be enough if the Lakers continue to under perform.

Problems continue to mount in Los Angeles. Now that the Lakers brought in Mike D’Antoni, Pau Gasol looks more lost than ever. He was even benched the entire fourth quarter in the Lakers’ embarrassing loss to the Orlando Magic this week. Gasol simply appears confused in D’Antoni’s system and rumors are even circulating that his sitting out a game or two is not because of tendinitis in his knees.

An inside Laker source revealed that Gasol may only still be on the Lakers because Nash insisted on a no trade agreement with the big man before he agreed to come to LA. This was of course due to the fact that Nash thrives in a pick-and-roll offense, something Gasol knows well. Nash clearly was envisioning a Mike Brown offense with at least some pick-and-roll plays in the game plan.

Yet, this agreement was also made before the Lakers acquired Dwight Howard. Howard is also a strong pick-and-roll player and it is not known if Nash would still be upset if the Lakers dealt Gasol now that Howard is in the equation. The bottom line though is wins and loses. If the Lakers continue their mediocre performance, it might not matter whether dealing Gasol upsets Nash or not. The Lakers have over $100 million on the table this year and they expect to win now.